


Strawberry Jam

by SLUTTYXIU



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Coming Out, Coming of Age, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 04:23:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17481104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SLUTTYXIU/pseuds/SLUTTYXIU
Summary: He never noticed the pretty set of eyelashes on his eyes which were now wet, or how sharp his cupids bow is.





	1. “You don't want to play soccer.. with me?”

**Author's Note:**

> Please enjoy something I took far too long too finish and post. Special thanks to Naz.  
> <3

Sehun had been spaced out when his arm began to ache like crazy. At some point he had learned to block out the physical taunting everyone at school decided he deserved. The loud noise of a chubby 6th grader falling to the ground face first spilling a tray of boxed milk followed by laughter caught his attention, as well as his bully (as if 99% of his class weren't also his bullies) he thought maybe it was nice now that he wasn't in pain, but now someone else was.   
He felt bad for that kid, Minseok. Sehun never really got the chance to interact with him since he spent most of his recess alone thinking of ways he could dodge his dad or maybe even fight back (which never happened). Sometimes he’d think about what he’d eat for dinner that day with the money he could gather that week. Usually on his way home though he sees Minseok practicing tricks with his dirty beaten up soccer ball behind the school building. He heard that when Minseok asked to be in the other kids soccer team, they told him they “don't accept boys who don't fight back”. Minseok was a real nice kid you see, he just wanted to play some soccer. He never did anything about it of course, like he's not going to do anything about Minseok getting tripped and how he's never going to do something about his own dad beating him.   
Sehun just stared right into Minseok's eyes, forgetting where they even were. Neither of them were able to understand at the time that in both of their eyes they shared the same kind of pain. He stared until Minseok looked away, picking up the cartons of milk for lunchtime. When it was Sehun's turn to receive what would be the only thing he'd consume that school day, he looked right at Minseok, who looked like he was about to cry. He never noticed the pretty set of eyelashes on his eyes which were now wet, or how sharp his cupids bow is. Sehun looked away swiftly. That was really odd. He was never one to notice these types of things on people, especially classmates, he never deemed them important. The few people he had remembered closely were his late mother, drunken dad, Ms. Minatozaki his neighbor and apparently now Kim Minseok.   
Sehun thought maybe Ms. Minatozaki worried or cared for him. She was unable to bear children, divorced her husband and moved to Korea where she would grow old. Ms. Minatozaki sometimes gave Sehun pocket change or some fresh vegetables from her garden and sometimes even leftovers. He liked the mix of Japanese and Korean food she made. He liked that Ms. Minatozaki was his neighbor.   
On his way home as always he got a good glance at Minseok practicing soccer tricks behind the school. Except this time, Minseok noticed him too. Sehun's typically cool and calm shell begun to crumble and his cheeks turned a shade of baby pink.   
“Ah.. this is weird. I liked it better when he didnt notice me” He thought to himself, turning away in embarrassment  
“Hey!”  
Snap.  
“You wanna play soccer with me?” Minseok said innocently. His voice was more high pitched than Sehun's and he came across as a goof.   
“No.”   
Minseok let out a very defeated “Oh” which made Sehun feel guilty.  
The awkward silence was so terrible it made him want to throw up.  
“Well, why not?”   
“I don't want to.”  
“You don't want to play soccer.. with me?”  
“ I don't know how to play” Sehun said, sounding very agitated and embarrassed. He had put himself in a vulnerable state. With classmates he never revealed much about himself. They only know about his father because he comes to school with visible bruises sometimes. In 1st grade they were asked to draw and describe their families. Now everyone knows he has only one parent, and he's not a very good one. He doesn't even say much to Ms Minatozaki, he's only much nicer to her. Sehun thinks she gets the idea, though.  
“I can teach you! Really! I'm not as good as Johnny maybe, but he's from america. I could give you basic skills y’know. Then we could play together after school. They usually use the field after school so maybe we could go to a park. Unless you want to stay here but it's a bit cramped.” Minseok babbled on and on  
“Alright cool” Sehun gave up, He seemed quite excited. He never had a companion either.   
“C-cool let's get started then”

Sehun walked home that day feeling a little less lonely. He wondered if Ms Minatozaki had any leftovers for him today, he was more hungry than usual.


	2. "Storage Room. Bring Milk."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It pleased Sehun to think about living in a cozy house with Minseok. Just the two of them, in a secluded area, sharing sandwiches and drinking milk together

Even if he wasnt to admit it, Sehun was excited to talk to Minseok the next day. No matter how much he tried to fight it, his eyes kept shifting towards the door that morning, waiting for Minseok to arrive. Maybe it was because it was the first friend he made at this damn school. They often pretended that they cared about the children's environment and classmate behavior, but of course didn't actually. It was a daily occurrence for Sehun to get pushed around, for kids to poke his bruises and make more. The only reason he got taunted being that his home situation wasn't exactly a perfect picture. Neither was Minseok's. How this all made sense didn't really compute in Sehun's head but he tried not to think about it since it upset him.

Every now and then he thought about snapping, and reversing the roles he was forcefully given at school. One day when he just had enough, he’d push back. That sort of thing was too violent for him though. Maybe if he had become that person, maybe if he had become his father, he would have scared away Minseok. So perhaps it's a good thing that he chose to be ice cold on the surface and warm on the inside. Maybe he can show Minseok he softer side. Possibly. Hopefully.

When Minseok walked in, Sehun's whole body tensed up and relaxed at the same time. Quickly, almost routinely, he built a shell. He tried to seem preoccupied with the carvings of heart symbols and emoticons that were left by previous kids, but mostly to distract himself from the cold flash that just ran through his body. The two had already met eyes, but Sehun was in denial of that. It broke him just a bit when Minseok didn't wave or say hello. The more he thought about it though, it was probably for the best. The rest of the class would probably make a joke out of it, and then Sehun didn't feel so sad. When roll call was over Minseok shifted his body slightly, glancing at him. So maybe this is how they'd say hello, like a silent language spoken with eyes that only they knew. Well, maybe not just them. He’d seen this sorta stuff on movies. Minseok made him feel like he was in a movie. 

Today, when Minseok was passing around their daily milk cartons, he slipped Sehun a tiny note. It read:  
“Storage room. Bring milk.”  
It excited Sehun, since he’d never passed notes around with friends, or anyone. He didn't count that one time Minho sent him a note, he didn't like what it said. When lunch began and everyone moved to their preferred outside and inside spots, Minseok was the first to leave. A few minutes later, Sehun cooly walked to the storage room. If anyone asked, he was running an errand. Upon opening the door, Sehun saw Minseok opening a lunch box. It was a regular, plain and small size box but sehun liked it very much. His dad never even bothered to make him lunch. 

“Here” Minseok said, holding up half a PB&J sandwich  
“For me?”  
“Of course Sehunnie”  
“Sehunnie? How old are you?  
“12”  
“Well...Hey! Wipe that smug look off your face”  
It was weird to think that Minseok was older than him, he had that typical kid look; small, baby face and cutesy. Sehun himself was a bit bigger and he didn't smile much, only with Minseok of course. He couldn't wait until after school now. He couldn't wait to spend more time with Minseok. 

Lying on the grass, heavily breathing and tired from soccer, Minseok mentions a place in the woods by his house he likes to hang in. 

“I usually go after school, I told my mom it was because im playing soccer with the team but im always practicing on my own so it doesn't take that long.”  
“Why'd you lie about the soccer thing?”  
“They'd probably make fun of me and if I said instead I was outside messing around, probably tell me to stop wasting my time on such stupid things, and to finally do something useful for once.”  
“..Oh”  
Sehuns facial expression went sullen. It was obvious that Minseok was similar to Sehun on family terms, and he should be used to hearing that sort of stuff. For some reason it hurt his heart to hear that Minseok was being treated such a way.  
“Lets visit the forest tomorrow then. Maybe we should build a house there for ourselves.” Minseok said, half joking half not  
“If we can”  
It pleased Sehun to think about living in a cozy house with Minseok. Just the two of them, in a secluded area, sharing sandwiches and drinking milk together. He brushed the idea off quickly though, they can't eat sandwiches everyday.


	3. "Strawberry-Head Seok"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Maybe Sehun needed to be Minseok's knight in shining armor this time"

The day went by rather quickly, even when a group of boys pointed out Sehun's fresh bruises. In fact, today some girl he's never spoken to before told him she'd never date a coward like himself. He didn't really understand, who lied to this girl and told her he was interested anyway? Sehuns not very interested in girls, he doesn't know why but he chooses to ignore it, he’s not too sure that he’d ever...date anyone. Even with odd thoughts that ran through his mind, it seemed like 3:00pm breezed right in at the blink of an eye.

Sehun and Minseok met up behind the school, away from any students engaging in afterschool activities. Even if they all didn't make fun of Sehun, they for sure had big mouths. Sehun didn't want to risk him or Minseok (especially Minseok, though) getting made fun of. The walk seemed longer with the sun beating down on them. It felt like Sehun's sweat was some sort of potion that made him even more tired, each movement was like it was in slow motion.  
“You know there's a pond there too. We can cool off that way and talk about our plans to build the house”  
Sehun didn’t respond. “Crap” he thought. Sehun never even learned to swim.   
“y-you don’t know how to swim do you?” Minseok's voice crescendoed. Sehuns cheeks were already a dusty pink from the heat, but he couldn’t help but blush even more out of embarrassment.  
“It’s okay, i’ll teach you.” Minseok seemed to understand. Sehun already suffers at school, even if he is Sehun's closest friend (more like his only friend) and in the end Sehun would understand that the teasing didn’t come from a malicious place, Minseok resisted. 

When they reached the spot Minseok had doted on, Sehun was relieved. They were drenched in sweat and he was ready to be cooled off. The place was also kind on the eyes, the water twinkling in the small patches of sunlight that the trees let through. Without a word, they both undressed to their undies. Minseok dipped in his right foot first “C'mon, i’ll hold your hand” He said, turning towards Sehun. Something about holding hands with Minseok sent a jolt of adrenaline and embarrassment to Sehun's entire body, but again he chose to ignore it. As their hands laced together, they walked into the body of water together, until it reached their knees. Sehun secretly wished he would somehow begin to drown so Minseok could save him, and then he’d be his knight in shining armor. Something Sehun needed these days. Or everyday.   
“Let’s go a little deeper, I won’t let go okay?”   
Sehun only nodded in response, too nervous to speak.   
Eventually the two were engulfed by the crisp and cold water, Sehun seemed to forget about the beads of sweat running down his forehead. Even though their arms were underwater Minseok never let go. He held Sehun's body when he began to paddle and Sehun started to like that feeling more than the cold water against his skin.

When the swimming lesson had ended, Minseok let go of Sehun's hand and they rested on the shallower part of the pond. He wished Minseok didn't let go, but that was a dumb idea.   
“So what do you think about the house?” Minseok blurted, breaking the silence.  
“What house?”   
“The house I wanted us to build?”  
“You were serious?”  
“What?! No!. I was just asking, you know.”  
So maybe Minseok really did want to build that house. Sehun thought it would be too difficult. He knew if his dad caught him gathering suspicious supplies he’d get slapped. Or worse. It shook him to the core, thinking about what his dad was capable of. He remembers once his dad came home terribly drunk, scaring a younger Sehun away. It angered his dad, the fact that he was running away from his own father. As if it wasn't his own fault. He remembers his dad's fist meeting his cheekbone and his vision getting blurry, the hot salty tears running down his face and stinging his split lip. There are many things that confuse and anger Sehun about this world.   
“So where should we hang out then?” Minseok's voice graced Sehun's ears, effortlessly putting his mind at ease.   
“Uh, I don't know” Looking down, blinking away the emerging tears, blushing cheeks (yet again). Sehun liked the way Minseok washed away the dark thoughts just by talking, or by being next to him. He liked the way Minseok's tan skin resembled honey, shiny wet and glimmering under the sun. The exact opposite of his own. Sehun always chose to stay indoors, since hardly anyone outside besides Ms. Minatozaki offered him any kindness (Before Minseok of course). Now that he had someone to spend time with, they'd be playing and practising outdoors. Hopefully Sehun would adopt some of Minseok's angelic features. The ones he could adopt anyways. He’d never seen anyone with a face like Minseok's, Sehun thought perhaps Minseok was truly one of a kind.  
“Maybe we could hang out at my neighbors house. She has a really cool garden, we could eat from it too.” Sehun blurted out, coming back down to reality.  
“Really? What type of stuff does she have?”  
“Everything I think. I really like the strawberries and cucumbers, they're really refreshing this time of year.”  
“Oh snap! That sounds amazing. I’ve never really had fresh food like that. Id imagine my favorite would be strawberries too, cucumbers sound really good though. Does she grow tomatoes? Are they sweet? The ones i've had were really bitter and gross but I know they can be sweet right? I bet they really are amazing in the summer.”  
Sehun sat there, yet again mesmerized by Minseok, watching him babble on about something he had seemingly dreamed about before they’d had met. He realized Minseok's head resembled that of a strawberry and it made him beam. Strawberry-head Seok. Cute. Even if Minseok was older than him, and he isn't the one who’s supposed to make up nicknames, anyone could tell this one suited Minseok like no other. Minseok somehow always put beautiful thoughts into his mind, even when in the moment he was experiencing or previously thinking something dark and scary.   
“Whats her name, your neighbor?”   
There was a moment of true silence between them as Sehun failed to answer, instead daydreaming about his knight in shining armor, while staring right at him.  
“...Huh? I-I mean its Ms. Minatozaki!”  
Crap. His cheeks felt hot. Again.  
More silence.  
“Sorry, was I boring you?” Minseok began with a chuckle and ended with a sad look.  
“What? Of course not”   
“Im sorry, I just.. My mom never really gives me food like that I got too excited.”  
Sehun’s body tenses up as he sees the first tear drip down from Minseok's eyes and fall into the water, rippling.  
Before Sehun could glorify any more of Minseok’s actions, he wrapped his arms around his body. Maybe this time Sehun needed to be Minseok's knight in shining armor this time.


End file.
